How to grow the BASIL Spice in Uganda

Basil is a bushy annual herb 1 to 2 ft high, with glossy opposite leaves. The leaves are used in cooking to impart their flavor to dishes. The herb originates from India and they consider it to be sacred to their different cultures.

Being a tropical plant, it does not treat cold climes kindly.

Common Basil varieties in Uganda

Many basil cultivars are available with different nuances of taste, size and appearance. These include:

Sweet basil (ocimum basilcum) - this is the most popular variety grown and eaten. It grows to a height of 75 cm when fully grown.

Cinnamon basil (ocimum basilcum)-this variety has a mild flavor of cinnamon, and grows to a height of 45 cm.

Lemon basil (osmium ocitriodorum)-this type of basil bares amild lemon flavor, and it grows to a height of about 30 cm.

Purple basil (ocimum basilcum purpurea) - it’s similar to sweet basil, except for its luscious dark purple leaves. It usually extends to a height of 75 cm when fully grown.

Basil Soil requirement

Basil will give you a good response on any garden loam soils. The soils should be well drained and with abundant organic matter to thrive.

How to Propagate the Basil Spice plant

Basil spice is grown/propagated by seed, and in about a week the seeds shall have germinated.

Ensure to saw seeds in apposition that receives a good amount of sunlight.

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How to Plant Basil spice in Uganda

One month before you plant, incorporate well decomposed organic manure to boost nutrient composition in your proposed planting site.

When growing outdoors, thinly cover the seeds with a 1/2 cm of compost and firm gently.

In about a week basil seeds shall have germinated, and once the seedlings have developed 2 pairs of true leaves, you can thin out the weakest leaving the strong ones to grow.

However caution has to be taken when planting large leaved cultivars to use a spacing of (1-1.5) ft apart and small leaved types 1 foot apart.

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How to Harvest Basil Spice

Basil is a pick and come again crop, its best to pick a few leaves off a number of plants than picking all the leaves off one plant.

Harvest the top most leaves first.

Once harvested, you can freeze the basil leaves to extend its shelf life or even use it fresh.

You can even go ahead to dry basil; here you cut the stems at soil level and dry the harvested foliar to dehydrate the leaves. Hang the bunches of the stems up to air dry in a warm room. This can take about a week. When your leaves have dried, you can remove them from the stems and then store the dry leaves in a tight container to up to 12 months.

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Quick Tips for planting Basil Spice

• You can plant in pots or outdoor


• On a well prepared land open up holes (1- 1/2) cm deep.


• Sow the seeds thinly in rows.


• Cover the seeds with soil and then gently firm.


• Water the soil to provide moisture needed for germination.


• When watering your basil, water at the base of the plant to avoid showering the leaves and stems.


• In a weeks’ time, remove the weakly germinated seedlings to reduce competition.
  Also hoe around the plants to remove weeds.


• When the plants start to flower be sure to pinch out any flowers that appear, as this will help preserve the plants flavor, and also channel the plants energies into more leaf growth.


• Harvest the foliar when leaves attain about 4-3 cm in width.





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